2000 Annual Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Friends of ACADIA 2000 Annual Report 21_1185 17 7/26/01, 5:19 PM A Letter to Members and Supporters Dear Friends of Acadia: Your dues and other contributions accomplished a tremendous amount in 2000. Some Highlights: Our ten-year trails rehabilitation began in earnest. The first of several yearly expansions of park trail crews, plans, and projects commenced. We are indebted to Ruth and Tris Colket, our visionary lead benefactors. They and the 1,050 other ACADIA TRAILS FOREVER campaign contributors sped TOTAL NUMBER us to the $9-million mark a year early. Donors are rapidly fulfilling pledges, fueling the trail work OF GIFTS along with $4 million in park visitor fees and other federal funds. 3000 Friends’ cumulative grants to the park and communities (1989-2000) surpassed $2.1 million. We 2500 underwrote 43 in-park employees, up from 16 in 1995—Acadia Youth Conservation Corps members, Ridge Runners, interns, carriage road and trail crews. In a national park, people are the programs. 2000 They keep Acadia beautiful and make it more resilient to human impacts. 1500 The Island Explorer transit fleet, co-developed by Friends and numerous partners, grew to 17 1000 propane buses. Ridership increased 39% to 193,000, removing an estimated 58,000 vehicles from 500 Mount Desert Island roads. This prevented 5.3 tons of pollutants and spared the island the equiva- lent of a 183-mile traffic jam. 0 ’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 2000 Acadia once again benefited from an industrious and successful park staff. We salute them all by acknowledging Superintendent Paul Haertel and his deputy, Len Bobinchock. We also say thanks to a dedicated corps of Friends of Acadia volunteers in the park and in the board and committee structure. Friends of Acadia balanced its budget. The six-year audited cost to raise a dollar was 3.7 cents. In a rough market, our investments returned 5.4 percent, outperforming the S&P 500 index by 14.5 percent. This organization’s capacity to give to the park, defend it from threats, advocate before Congress, and influence national park policy is the direct outcome of your donations. Thank you for your strong confidence in this important work. H. Lee Judd, W. Kent Olson, Nathaniel Fenton, Chairman of the Board President Treasurer Cover Photo Bear Brook Trail George DeWolfe 2000 Annual Report 1 Friends of Acadia 21_1185 2 7/26/01, 5:18 PM Statement of Activities For the year ending December 31, 2000 Total Operating and Non-Operating Support and Revenue $2,355,080 OPERATING REVENUE, GAINS & OTHER SUPPORT Investment Contributions, grants and membership received $ 3,732,824 Merchandise Income less Change in contributions receivable (2,466,992) & Other 1.2% Expenses 29.1% Events 278,515 Events 11.8% Merchandise and other revenues 27,123 Bequests 0.3% Investment income 488,757 Investment expense (29,275) Contributions & Membership 57.6% TOTAL OPERATING REVENUE, GAINS & OTHER SUPPORT $ 2,030,952 Total Expenses by Program OPERATING EXPENSES $1,242,137 Program Services Resource preservation and protection $ 680,981 Conservation Conservation Education Carriage Road & Outreach 23% Education and outreach 285,788 Grants 17% Total Program Services $ 966,769 Supporting Services Development, fundraising and membership $ 177,217 Conservation Fundraising Management and general 98,151 Resource Expenses 14% Protection 38% Management Total Supporting Services $ 275,368 & General 8% In 2000, 78% of Friends of Acadia expenses TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES $ 1,242,137 were for programs. This is substationtially better than at many other nonprofit organizations. CHANGE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS $ 788,815 Fundraising Expenses as a % of NON-OPERATING INCOME (EXPENSE) Total Support and Revenue Investment income $ 224,851 (7.5%) Loss on disposal of equipment (723) Decrease in provision for uncollectible pledges 100,000 Net Revenue 92.5% TOTAL NON-OPERATING INCOME $ 324,128 TOTAL CHANGE IN NET ASSETS $ 1,112,943 NET ASSETS Fundraising Beginning of year $ 13,783,453 Expenses 7.5% End of year $ 14,896,396 On IRS form 990, FOA is required to report fundraising expenses as a portion of total support and revenue. NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOA’s six-year average fundraising cost was 3.66%. Friends of Acadia is a nonprofit, tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, a publicly supported organization as defined by Section 170(b) A-6. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. The six-year average of fundraising cost is 3.66%. The Statement of Activity and Change in Net Assets is drawn from audited financial statements by Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, Certified Public Accountants. FUNDRAISING EXPENSES 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total TOTAL REVENUE $1,499,140 $1,136,884 $1,655,708 $768,160* $8,707,528 $2,355,080 $16,122,500 FUNDRAISING 57,594 45,043 48,251 59,448 202,338 177,217 589,891 FUNDRAISING AS A % OF TOTAL REVENUE 3.84% 3.96% 2.91% 7.74% 2.32% 7.52% 3.66% *After investment loss (change in market value) All figures are derived from audited financials, not IRS Form 990. 2000 Annual Report Friends of Acadia 2 21_1185 3 7/26/01, 5:18 PM The Year in Review 1) ACADIA TRAILS FOREVER Through ACADIA TRAILS FOREVER, Friends established endowments to fund trail reconstruction and maintenance. Friends raised $9 million in private funds, and the park is committing $4 million, to: 1) reha- bilitate the 130-mile foot path system over ten years; restore some unmarked trails; 3) create five village connectors (paths to link com- munities with the park); and 4) endow the system’s maintenance in perpetuity. Endowments are also established to fund the Acadia Youth Conservation Corps and the Ridge Runner Program. 2) ANP Recreation Intern For the fifth year, FOA hired a Recreation Intern to work with Charlie Jacobi, NPS Resource Management Specialist, to monitor visitor use of trails and carriage roads. Among other things, he maintained elec- tronic trail usage counters, conducted visitor surveys, entered survey data into spreadsheets, and generally assisted with visitor outreach on the trails and carriage roads. 3) Acadia Winter Trails Association A local volunteer group sponsored by Friends, AWTA devotes many 1) Trail crew training on Ocean Path stone retaining wall hours after snowstorms to grooming 33 miles of carriage roads for cross-country skiing. Groomed trails stand up well to thaws and drizzle, allowing skiers and snowshoers to get the most out of un- predictable snow seasons. 4) Acadia Youth Conservation Corps Funded by donations and an ACADIA TRAILS FOREVER endowment, the 2000 AYCC employed 14 high-school age members and four adult crew leaders from June 24 through August 18. AYCC projects are integrated into the annual work plans of the park trail crew and carriage road crew, with park staff providing leadership and assis- tance with the technically demanding aspects of the work. See page 6 for a list of their major accomplishments. 5) Conservation Easement Monitoring Friends made a grant of $5,000 to contract a private stewardship 2) Carriage road near Eagle Lake professional to work with the park to develop the baseline data system and monitor 10 park-held conservation easements. Acadia holds 160 easements on more than 11,000 acres. 6) Island Explorer Peter Travers photo Peter Travers Friends once again partnered with Acadia National Park, the Maine Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, MDI municipalities, and others to operate the Island Explorer bus system. Nine propane-powered buses were added to the fleet in 2000, bringing the total to 17, enabling Downeast Transportation to increase service on several routes. Over 193,000 passengers boarded the Island Explorer in 2000, reducing summer traffic by nearly 58,000 vehicles. Visitor entry passes helped pay for bus operations. 7) Preserving Historic Trails Conference In October 100 trail professionals from around the country gathered in Bar Harbor to discuss the challenges of preserving historic trail features such as raised gravel turnpiking, Civilian Conservation Corps stone- work, bridges, drainage systems, overlooks, and other built features. Sponsored by Friends of Acadia, the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, and Acadia National Park. 3) AWTA grooms 33 miles of carriage roads 2000 Annual Report (continued on page 5) for cross-country skiing. 4) AYCC at work 3 Friends of Acadia 21_1185 4 7/26/01, 5:18 PM 5) Conserved land on Greening Island eservation photo Olmsted Center for Lands capie Pr 6) More people discovered the ease of using the Island Explorer buses. 7) Discussing Acadia trail reconstruction efforts on the Jordan Pond Trail 8) Jet Ski Initiative —Somes Sound 2000 Annual Report Friends of Acadia 4 21_1185 5 7/26/01, 5:18 PM The Year in Review 8) Jet Ski Initiative photo Peter Travers Friends worked with the town of Tremont to successfully petition the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for 10-horsepower restrictions on Seal Cove and Hodgdon Ponds. These ponds, which border Acadia National Park, were the only remaining ponds on MDI where jet skis were allowed. Friends also completed a survey of Somes Sound property owners, mooring owners, lobstermen, sailors, and commercial tour boat operators. The survey showed strong sup- port for banning jet skis on the Sound. 9) Ranger Bicycles Using visitor contributions gathered at donation boxes in the park, Friends granted $6,500 to Acadia National Park last year to purchase 9) Ranger Bicycles five specially equipped mountain bikes for park rangers to use on carriage road patrols. Visitors responded favorably to the increased field presence of park rangers, and bicycle patrols may expand in future years to the Park Loop Road and to Isle au Haut.